Seoul - Day 5

This morning, I woke up early and saw a fresh, white layer of snow outside. It wasn't very much though - obly about 2-3cm thick. But it was enough to make me happy seeing it before leaving for Singapore tomorrow.

Today, we joined a guided tour on to the De-Militarised Zone (DMZ), which is the 2km wide zone along the border on both sides of North and South Korea. In that zone, weapons are prohibited and there are soldiers on patrol. We walked through the 3rd tunnel built by North Korea and discovered by South Korea in 1978. Its unfinished end is just 58km from Seoul. Imagine if North Korea succeded in using that to attack.. The tunnel is 73m underground. Climbing back up from the tunnel was really tiring. The furthest we could go in the tunnel was just 170m from North Korea. We also went to visit other sites in the DMZ like the Doraesan Station and Freedom Bridge. Because of the North recently bombed a South Korean island, we couldn't go up the Dora observatory to look at North Korea.

The visit to ths DMZ was also like a crash course history lesson on the Korean War. I finally understand a little more about the war and the significance of the DMZ. If I ever get a chance to go again, I'd want to tour the Joint Security Area. We couldn't go this time because Singaporeans have to obtain permission at least a week before.

Before going to South Korea, I was a little worried about the increasing tension between the North and South in the wake of the recent bombings. But after living here for a week, I think the locals don't seem very concerned about the North. The people, from what I observed, are still calm. At least, more relaxed than the rest of the world watching them.

The rest of the day was spent walking around the Nandaemun area. We wanted to see the city gate but when we reached, it was under construction because a fire destroyed it in 2008. But there were lots of shops there, so we walked around. We bought stuff to cook from a supermarket and walked back all the way home.

My feet are really tired from all the walking this week. I did so much exercise without even realising. We have to wake up early tomorrow to catch the flight back to Singapore. I might post some pictures when I'm back, if I don't get buried under the pile of work waiting to fall on me when I'm back. Ok I'm going to get some rest.